Birds Nest

How long ago did u glue it? Glue typically causes parts of the base of my frags to lose tissue before growing back over it.

 

so you dose nothing?

I just ran a test at my house on reef crystals (a week ago) and came up with cal 460, Mag 1500, ALK was 8 or something like that.

 

I think it looks just fine. Given enough time, this coral should be a fast grower compared to most sps..

 

Same with mine. Told my alk is too low at 8.2

 

8.2 is more than fine. Anywhere between 8-11 is a very suitable place to be. Seawater typically hangs around 8.

 

In another thread I was talking about SPS stylo bleaching. Someone said that was low. Needs to be closer to 10. Maybe stylo needs that?

 

No, there is not a magical number. Stylos, Acros, Seritpora, Montipora, Pavona, Euphyllias, etc. all thrive in thier natural state with an average dKH of 7.8. A number anywhere from 8-11 (even 7.5-12.5) is perfectly fine and will give you similar results. The most important thing with alkalinity is picking a concentration and keeping it as close to there as possible through dosing or other means. Alk. swings are highly detrimental (tissue nercrosis) as are highly elevated levels (burned tips).

I will say this with regards to the range, or any range for that matter, whether it be salinity, calcium, magnesium, tempertature etc. You want to shoot for the mean so that you can account for any deviations in water chemistry or inaccuries within your testing on the positive and negative side. For example with regards to alk., a range of 8-11 would be best buffered at a concentration of 9.5.

That doesn't mean that an alk. of 8.2 is problematic (it's not in the least), but an alk. of 8.2 and a tesing error of 5% on the low side could mean it's actually closer to 7.8, which is getting on the low end and below natural sea water. Any consumption oof alk. could lower to a point of potential nercrosis.

Bleaching is typically a result of lighting intensity or elevated temperature.

 

Just retested after dosing a couple days. At 10. So will see if that helps. Balancing calcium, alk, and mag is a challenge

 

Thank you for the info. That helps a lot! I learned a lot from this post. Thanks!!!!

 

I have found that Alk being on the higher end of the recommended parameters aides in keeping my pH more stable. This is why i shoot for around 11.